Why Social Media Matters Mr. Josh Flint, Associate Director of Communications, Talent Acquisition, and Retention, The Maschhoffs, shares thoughts on what the public perceives about agriculture. Josh states that agriculture is at a defining moment and right now that moment is being defined by others outside of agriculture. With that opening, Josh shares how social media tools are easy to use and provides details on the resources any operation can pick up and run with it [video].

Setting the Record Straight: Working With Biased Media This panel presentation highlights what happened when a the Chicago Tribune asked the Illinois Pork Producers for information about and access to pork farms. Jennifer Tirey, Executive Director, Illinois Pork Producers, Phil Borgic, Owner & Operator, Borgic Farms, and Cindy Cunningham, Assistant Vice President, Communications, National Pork Board, share how the story developed, what actions they took, and how data was used to understand the impacts to the business of pork [video].

Mandatory Price Reporting Changes Dr. Craig Morris, Deputy Administrator, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program, provides an update on the Agricultural Marketing Service, how it has changed, and what services are being supported, like the Market News, webinars, and other information sources [video].

Negative Media Needs Your Attention Ms. Janet Riley, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Member Services at North American Meat Institute, provides thoughts on media coverage and conversations and how reporting can be skewed against agriculture. Ms. Riley offers several approaches to helping address the story gap: be active in the conversations through proactive engagement; don’t just tell – show through the use of visuals, videos, like glass walls; and communicate directly using multiple vehicles from Twitter to the Jon Stewart show.

How Ongoing Negative Media Coverage Is Impacting Animal Agriculture and What We Can Do About It - Ms. Janet Riley, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Member Services at North American Meat Institute, from the 2015 NIAA Annual Conference titled Water and the Future of Animal Agriculture, March 23 - March 26, 2015, Indianapolis, IN, USA.